Meeting of the Minds brings together two different points of view from an industry rookie and an experienced expert.
The Mediaweek series aims to showcase their diverse perspectives, thoughts and opinions.
This week’s Meeting of the Minds sees Sarah Hunter and Sophia Charlton from independent digital marketing agency Sparro reveal their leadership heroes, current streaming binge and career goals.
Sarah Hunter, group account director, Sparro
Best career advice – Screw career advice, this is life advice: be patient. Hard work pays off and sometimes you just have to take the long way round — so you may as well enjoy the ride. By taking the time to fully learn a process or a skill, you learn more than just the tangible skills, but also the softer ones that are worth more to you and your career.
Sometimes it just takes as long as it takes.
My favourite podcast/read – I recently read The Tattooist of Auschwitz. A disturbing and beautiful story of courage. I highly recommend it.
Current streaming binge – I just finished bingeing, Lessons in Chemistry. The inner scientist in me loved it (thanks Bachelor of Science) and the casting, costumes and head-on approach to inequality were brilliant.
Leadership hero – I don’t have a leadership hero. No one is flawless (let alone a hero), but I do feel joy when I see leadership qualities in the everyday.
That said, when I was working in a marketing role within the education sector, strong leadership was evident from the Head of School. They led by example — championing diversity, knowing each student by name, taking the suggestion box seriously, and understood the value of of supporting other disciplines and understanding each individual’s expertise.
I wish someone had told me – I was once told feedback is a gift, but I’m not sure I truly believed it for myself until later in my career.
If there is something I can drum into the next generation of marketers it’s this: search for the value in feedback or criticism. Constructive feedback is not a personal attack but an opportunity to grow.
Guilty content pleasure – The Summer I Turned Pretty. My teenage daughter and I watch it together. It’s an introduction for her, but for me, it takes me back to my days of first crushes and teenage angst.
Best training course/session – I was privileged to attend many WPP training courses from my time at Wavemaker/MEC, but their 3-day leadership course was by far the most rewarding. There were many cringeworthy and sentimental training moments with my peers, but it was the time spent on self-reflection that encouraged personal and professional growth. If you haven’t done it yet, find out what ‘personality type’ you are.
Your mentor – I currently don’t have a mentor, but I am constantly looking for inspiration from those I work with. Right now it’s the agile and curious nature of my fellow Sparros that has me in awe. As a whole, they are fearless in their approach to learning, growth and great work.
Hot medium or show – Not necessarily new, but the noise (pun intended) around live music right now is deafening.
As marketers, are we doing enough to tap into this cultural momentum for our clients? The obvious concert that comes to mind is Taylor Swift, suddenly everyone’s a Swiftie. Call it what you will, this is a shameless plug to get my hands on 2 tickets. I will pay handsomely 🙂
Favourite media event – Cerebral Palsy Alliance Fundraiser. A wonderful family-friendly weekend including golf and a glamorous gala raising money for a great cause.
Wish I’d done that – Travel, always more travel. Australia is far away from the rest of the world, but the experiences you have and the memories you create are priceless.
Career goal for 2024 – I’m fairly new to my current role. I promised to listen more and act less in 2023, so I could really understand the needs of the team and clients.
In 2024 it’s time to flip the switch. Yes, I’ll continue to listen — but I’m going to focus more energy on driving action for myself and my team.
Sophia Charlton, digital marketing specialist, Sparro
Best career advice – Frequently check in with yourself and ask the questions, ‘Am I happy?’ and ‘Am I still learning?’
If the answer to either of these questions is No, what needs to change to turn it into a Yes?
My favourite podcast/read – Nothing cheers me up more than listening to Australia’s greatest national treasures, Hamish and Andy.
Current streaming binge – A bit late to the party here, but I’ve just finished bingeing Succession. I liked that the story and dialogue make it impossible to multitask at the same time, otherwise, you be completely lost. Banger theme song too.
Leadership hero – I can’t say I have one singular leadership hero that I look up to. That said, I like to take inspiration from those around me. I really respect people who lead with confidence and stick to their guns in challenging situations.
I wish someone had told me – Making mistakes is okay because that’s how you learn!
Being scared to make mistakes can limit you from doing so much — it’s how you respond and grow from it that counts.
Guilty content pleasure – I’m a sucker for most reality TV shows, but I’m not sure it still counts as just a guilty pleasure if you consume it most days of the week?
Best training course/session – Sparro’s Development Coach has run some cracking training courses over the years, my favourite being the HBDI session. This assessment shows your preference level for 4 different types of thinking: quantitative, sequential, emotional, and holistic.
This helped me figure out my strengths and potential blindspots in the ways that I like to work, but it was also a game changer in learning how to better define how those around me work too.
Your mentor – I feel very lucky to have found such a great mentor in my manager, Ciara Hautau! I love working with her and am constantly learning something new from her. She is such a great person to bounce ideas off of, is full of incredible enthusiasm, and has so much time for the people around her.
Hot medium or show – Tiktok, cos if you can’t beat ’em join ‘em.
Despite everyone’s complaints about its addictiveness, it’s not going anywhere any time soon, so we might as well lean into it. Once you wade past all the dancing videos, TikTok is full of some of the best content on the internet today. I’ve learnt more there than on any other social media platform.
Favourite media event – Last year, I was lucky enough to attend the Women in Media Awards. It was a great chance to celebrate the achievements of so many successful women, and a unique chance to hear from the evening’s keynote speaker, Leigh Sales. It was inspiring to hear her first-hand experiences and tell her story of not being held back by the critics she faced in her early career.
Wish I’d done that – Worn more sunscreen.
I also wish I’d been the marketing genius behind Spotify Wrapped.
Career goal for 2024 – Say Yes to more opportunities that will challenge me and push me to grow as a leader.
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Top image: Meeting of the Minds – Sparro’s Sarah Hunter and Sophia Charlton